1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pourer cap with closure cover for fluid substance containers, which is formed in one piece from moulded plastic material and is able to prevent and respectively allow dispensing of the substance by slightly moving the cover relative to a main body on which the cover is superposed.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
It is common practice to contain liquid, fluid or creamy substances in containers, usually of plastic material, the mouth of which can either be closed by a cover screwed onto the neck of the respective container, and which has to be removed to effect dispensing, or be closed by a pourer cap formed in two pieces movable one relative to the other and which prevent dispensing of the substance or allow this dispensing by simple slight axial movement of one piece relative to the other.
Pourer caps of this type are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,383,623, U.S. Pat. No. 4,690,304, U.S. Pat. No. 4,779,764 and EP-A-1035030; these caps comprise a main body sealingly mounted on the mouth of a container, and a movable member, superposed on the main body and displaceable relative thereto between a position in which a delivery hole provided in the movable member is sealingly closed by an appendix projecting from the main body and a position in which this delivery hole is raised relative to said appendix to enable dispensing of the substance contained in the container. The pourer caps of the type illustrated in the cited patents present two serious drawbacks, the first of which consists of the fact that they comprise two separate component parts which have to be produced separately and then mounted one on the other before being applied to the container mouth, with obvious costs involved; the second drawback is that when the user wishes to open a pourer cap (to use the substance present in the container) or, vice versa, wishes to close it, he has to grip the container with one hand, while with the other hand he moves the movable member relative to the main body of the cap, this often causing problems.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,135,441 describes a pourer cap comprising a main body and a cover which are joined together by a flexible tang, the whole being formed in one piece by moulding plastic material, in which the main body delimits a discharge hole and presents in its lower part a seat for housing and sealingly retaining the free edge of the neck of a fluid substance container. The cover can be rotated onto the main body, on which it can be retained (by means of mutually cooperating profiled portions on each) in a position in which the cover sealingly closes the discharge hole in the main body.
When the substance is to be delivered, the cover is opened by disengaging it from the main body and rotating it through 180xc2x0 laterally to this body, so that the discharge hole is completely freed and the substance can be delivered.
To dose the cap, the cover is rotated through 180xc2x0 about the flexible tang which joins it to the main body, to move it from its position to the side of the main body to a position in which the cover is superposed on this latter, to close its discharge hole.
The pourer cap of U.S. 3,135,441 also has two drawbacks, one of which consists of the fact that to move it from its closure position to its dispensing position or vice versa, the user has to use both hands, one to grip the container and the other to rotate the cover relative to the main body; another drawback is that when the cover has been turned over into its open position, the discharge hole is completely open and free, such that it becomes difficult to pour small or controlled quantities of the fluid substance, part of which always trickles to the outside of the cap, so soiling it.
The main object of the present invention is to provide a one-piece pourer cap with closure cover formed by moulding plastic material, the cover of which can be opened and respectively closed with one finger of the same hand which grips the container on which the cap is mounted, and of which the degree of opening of the discharge hole in the cap can be easily regulated by the user to enable the flow of delivered substance to be controlled between a minimum and a maximum.
This and further objects are attained by a pourer cap comprising a main body having an upper part and a lower part and a cover joined thereto by a flexible tang, all formed in one piece by moulding plastic material, in which the main body delimits a discharge channel and presents, in its lower part, a seat for housing and sealingly retaining the free edge of the neck of a fluid substance container, the main body and the cover having respective profiled portions mutually cooperating to retain the cover on the upper part of the main body to close said discharge channel, characterised in that the main body comprises a funnel-shaped wall which is inclined towards the bottom of said body and from which there extends a tubular wall which defines said discharge channel by combination with the opposing surface of an appendix supported on the inside of the tubular wall by at least one fin projecting from said tubular wall, the appendix having a free end projecting towards the top of the main body beyond said funnel-shaped wall, in the cover there being provided a delivery hole about the whole of which there extends an elongate annular jacket the free end of which is shaped as an outwardly diverging lip and is insertable and movable within said discharge channel to seal against said tubular wall of the main body, the cover delivery hole being superposed on and sealed by the free end of said appendix when in the closure position in which the cover is lowered onto the main body, the cover and main body being provided with profiled elements which mutually cooperate to limit the raising of the cover on the main body into the dispensing position in which the cover delivery hole is raised away from the free end of said appendix.
In particular, said funnel-shaped wall of the main body has a small thickness such as to flex under the thrust exerted on the tubular wall projecting from it by the lip of the cover annular jacket when in the position in which the cover is partially raised from the main body and said delivery hole is raised away from the free end of said appendix of the main body.